Over the past five years, Trinity Christian Academy has sent two volleyball players to play at the collegiate level at Union.

TCA has now benefited from that relationship as the administration announced on Tuesday that former Union player Christa Karns is the new volleyball coach for the Lady Lions.

"I have had teammates like Anna Claire Winchester and Clare Taylor that have come from Trinity, and I saw how important volleyball was to them and how good the team has been," Karnes said. "It seemed like a good fit. The school is Christian-based, and I really wanted to be a part of that atmosphere."

Karns replaces Kelly Elliott, who resigned after six seasons to watch her daughter Anna play in college.

Karns started all 33 matches in 2018 as a right-side hitter and was second on the team in kills with 189 and blocks with 105. She graduates from Union in May with a major in social work.

TCA made eight straight state tournament appearances in the Class A state tournament from 2008 through 2016, and the Lady Lions became the first West Tennessee team to reach a state championship game in 2014.

"I want to continue on the legacy from Coach Kelly Elliott," Karnes said. "I want to help these girls grow not only as volleyball players but also as followers of Christ. I don't feel like my coaching philosophy will be that different from hers, and I want to make the transition easy on the girls."

Joining Karnes as an assistant coach will be Susie Toomey, the mother of Elliott. Toomey has coached volleyball for more than 40 years and has won 749 matches with a 76.6 winning percentage. She coached at King University for 22 years.

TCA will be making the move to Division II-A this season after finishing the 2018 season with a record of 36-4 before losing to Summertown in the Region 6-A semifinals.